First-Time Home Buyers Match Act

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, establish a pilot program through which the Secretary shall each year during the duration of the pilot program, deposit into a qualifying savings account of each of 20,000 eligible prospective borrowers an amount equal to the lesser of—

(1) 50 percent of the amount an eligible person deposited into such account during such year; or

(2) $5,000.

The Secretary may not deposit amounts into any qualifying savings account if such account holds an amount that is greater than or equal to the amount that is 10 percent of the area median value of a single-family home in the area where the eligible prospective borrower who owns such account resides.

To be eligible to receive amounts under this section, an eligible prospective borrower must have completed homeownership counseling provided by a HUD-certified housing counseling agency.

An eligible prospective borrower who receives amounts under this section may only use such amounts for—

(1) a downpayment associated with the purchase of a single-family home;

(2) title insurance and other closing costs associated with the purchase of a single-family home;

(3) real estate agent commissions associated with the purchase of a single-family home;

(4) appraisal and inspection fees associated with the purchase of a single-family home;

(5) loan origination fees associated with the purchase of a single-family home; or

(6) qualified home repairs, to be reported to the Secretary through a disclosure form.

The amount provided to a participant under this section shall be considered a second mortgage on the home, as described in this subsection.

The term of the second mortgage shall be equal to 36 months.

The amount of the second mortgage shall be reduced by 1/36th on the last day of each month of occupancy following the date of the disbursal of the amount.

If the participant sells or stops living in the home, the participant shall owe to the Secretary the amount due on the second mortgage as of the date that the home is sold or vacated.

The program established under this section shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section.

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, not later than 180 days after the date described in subsection (e), submit a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report on the effectiveness of the pilot program established under this section that includes—

(1) the total number of participants that enrolled in the program;

(2) the average amount saved by participants and the total amount of matching funds disbursed;

(3) the number of participants who successfully closed a transaction to purchase a single-family home using amounts provided through the program;

(4) data on income levels, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and zip codes of participants;

(5) a comparison of mortgage default rates between program participants and a control group of non-participant first-time buyers in the same areas;

(6) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the institutions managing qualifying savings account in managing such accounts;

(7) the percentage of participants that used amounts provided under this section for qualifying repairs and the average cost of such repairs; and

(8) an assessment of whether the pilot program established under this section helped participants have the amounts required to purchase single-family home.

In this section:

The term eligible prospective borrower means a person who—

(A) is a citizen of the United States;

(B) is 18 year of age, or older;

(C) is a first-time homebuyer, as such term is defined in section 104 of the Cranston Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act;

(D) has not more than $75,000 in liquid assets, as determined by the Secretary; and

(E) earns not more than 120 percent of the area median income in the area in which the person resides.

The term qualifying home repairs means home repairs made after an inspect to address health, safety, or structural integrity issues identified in a certified home inspection report that are recommended by a third-party, licensed home inspector and completed not later than 20 days of the date on which the purchase transaction for the home closed.

The term qualifying savings account means a savings account opened by an eligible prospective borrower at an insured depository institution or an insured credit union.

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.